Canelo Alvarez has fought a remarkable 68 times and has been casting his mind back over the hardest punchers he has never faced.
Canelo is now 36 years old and a true veteran who has been the face of boxing for around a decade. He has held multiple world championships across four different weight classes from light middleweight all the way up to light heavyweight, including unified titles in three of those divisions.
He was the first man to become undisputed super-middleweight ruler, then did it again and became two-time undisputed champion in 2025 before losing the titles to Terrence Crawford last time out back in July 2025.
He has fought everyone from Floyd Mayweather to Shane Mosley, Gennady Golovkin to Miguel Cotto, and though he must be nearing the end, he returns to the ring once more on October 31 as he fights WBC champion Christian Mbilli.
Speaking in a past post-fight press conference, Canelo was asked which man has hit him the hardest across his career so far.
“[James] Kirkland. It was unbelievable. I felt the punches right here.”
While Canelo remembers being hit by Kirkland, most fans will more likely remember that the Mexican brutally stopped the American inside just three rounds when they fought back in 2015.
After the fight, Kirkland admitted he couldn’t remember being knocked out. Canelo went on to fight Cotto later that year and pick up his first middleweight title after becoming WBC champion at 160lbs, while Kirkland did not return to the ring for another four years.
